Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is an information processing apparatus which cooperates with a terminal apparatus to configure a home network system, including: a frame visual attribute setting section configured to set a frame visual attribute to a window provided on a screen to display a reproduced piece of content; a publication section configured to publish a command adapted to request notification of the frame visual attribute set to the window from the terminal apparatus to the terminal apparatus; and a notification section configured to notify the terminal apparatus of the frame visual attribute of the window in response to calling of the command from the terminal apparatus.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/538,083, filed Nov. 11, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 13/934,473, filed Jul. 3, 2013, which claims thebenefit of priority of Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/737,469,filed Dec. 14, 2012, the entire contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus,an information processing method, and a program, and particularly to aninformation processing apparatus, an information processing method, anda program suitable for use in a case where content displayed on acertain screen device which configures a home network is identified byan ACR (Automatic Content Recognition) service and metadatacorresponding to the content is displayed on a different screen deviceor an application is executed in accordance with the progression of thecontent.

For example, it is supposed to display, to a viewer of a TV (television)program, information (performers, a plot outline, a trailer and soforth) relating to the TV program (hereinafter referred to simply asprogram) being broadcast, information useful to a viewer (news, weatherforecast, traffic information and so forth) although it does not have adirect relationship to the program, and so forth on the screen.

In order to implement this, a command used to acquire and start up anapplication program for exclusive use (hereinafter referred to simply asapplication) may be transmitted to a TV receiver or the like in a linkedrelationship with the progression of the program. Actually, in Japan,Europe and so forth, this has been implemented by transmitting thecommand or the application making use of a frequency band for databroadcasting in a TV broadcasting signal (refer to, for example,Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-50237).

In the meantime, in the United States, a frequency band for databroadcasting is not provided in a TV broadcasting signal, and areplacing method is not established. Therefore, it has not beenimplemented to execute an application in a linked relationship with theprogression of a program.

It is to be noted that, in the United States, the number of householdsin which a program is viewed through a CATV, an IPTV or the like isgreater than the number of households in which a TV broadcasting wave isreceived directly by and viewed on a TV receiver. Since the CATV or theIPTV sometimes extracts only video and audio signals of a program from aTV broadcasting signal and distributes the video and audio signals, evenif a frequency band for data broadcasting is provided in a TVbroadcasting signal in the United states, there is no guarantee that adata broadcasting signal including an application and related data istransmitted to a reception apparatus.

Further, it is requested recently to execute, even in a case in whichnot only a program being broadcast but also a program recorded, videosreproduced from a package medium such as a DVD or a BD, moving pictures,music or the like downloaded through the Internet (such programs and soforth mentioned are hereinafter referred to as content) are beingviewed, an application in a linked relationship with the progression ofthe content.

In order to implement this request, it is necessary to identify thepiece of content being viewed, and as one method therefor, a techniquecalled ACR (Automatic Content Recognition) service is available (refer,for example, to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-168801).

The ACR service is implemented by an ACR client and an ACR server. TheACR client, which is incorporated in a content reproduction apparatussuch as a TV receiver, extracts, from content being viewed, signaturedata representative of a characteristic of the content and notifies theACR server to request identification of the content. The ACR servercompares the received signature data with signature data of contentrecorded in a database in advance to identify the content being viewedon the content reproduction apparatus. Further, the ACR server issues anACR response including metadata relating to the identified content andinformation indicative of an application to be executed in a linkedrelationship (such application is hereinafter referred to as linkedapplication) to the ACR client.

The content reproduction apparatus in which the ACR client whichreceives the response is incorporated acquires a linked application froma predetermined server and executes the linked application.

SUMMARY

Incidentally, in the United States, as a result of popularization of aCATV, an IPTV and so forth, a TV receiver is positioned as a displayingoutputting device of an external apparatus such as a set top box of aCATV, an IPTV or the like as described above.

Therefore, a user has few opportunities to operate a remote controllerof a TV receiver but frequently operates a remote controller of theexternal apparatus. Therefore, there is the possibility that anoperation for a linked application started up in a TV receiver as acontent reproduction apparatus which is operated by a remote controllerof the TV receiver may not be favorable in convenience in use to theuser.

Accordingly, taking the convenience to a user into consideration, arequest to cause a second screen device, which is different from acontent reproduction apparatus (TV receiver or the like) in which an ACRclient is incorporated, to display metadata relating to content beingviewed on the content reproduction apparatus or to execute a linkedapplication has been and is being generated.

Here, as the second screen device, for example, a tablet type terminal,a slate PC, a smartphone and so forth can be listed.

Further, in recent years, a second screen device of the type which canoperate the external apparatus with a predetermined application programstarted up in the second screen device, namely, of the type which can beutilized as a remote controller for the external apparatus, isavailable. Therefore, implementation of the request described above isdesired also from a point of view that operation inputting devices for acontent reproduction apparatus and an external apparatus areconsolidated on the second screen device.

Furthermore, mainly in the United States, there is a tendency that thescreen size of a TV receiver and so forth as a content reproductionapparatus becomes greater than 50 to 60 inches, and a utilization formin which a plurality of pieces of content different from each other aredisplayed and viewed simultaneously on the screen of the increased sizebegins to be gradually popularized. Accordingly, also it is necessary toconsider also a utilization form in which an ACR client is built in a TVreceiver or the like which has such a large-sized screen and is linkedwith a second screen device. In the following description, a TV receiveror the like which has a large-sized screen and can display a pluralityof different pieces of content at the same time is referred to as amulti-window screen device.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a space in a case where it is assumed tolink a multi-window screen device in which an ACR client is built and asecond (2nd) screen device with each other to utilize an ACR service andthe devices are disposed in a home of a user or the like.

In FIG. 1, a multi-window screen device 1-1 is installed on the front ofthe user, and a multi-window screen device 1-2 is installed on a leftside wall. A second screen device 3 is disposed in the proximity of theuser.

A plurality of (in the case of FIG. 1, three) windows can be provided onthe multi-window screen device 1-1, and different pieces of content(which may be the same as each other) can be displayed at the same timein the windows. In the following description, for example, the piece ofcontent displayed in a window A is referred to as content A. Thissimilarly applies also to the other pieces of content displayed in theother windows.

The multi-window screen device 1-1 can transfer an ACR response, whichincludes an identification result and so forth of the pieces of contentdisplayed in the windows, to the second screen device 3 by utilizing anACR service.

Also the multi-window screen device 1-2 is similar to the multi-windowscreen device 1-1. However, in FIG. 1, the multi-window screen device1-2 is in a state in which only a window X is provided on the screenthereof and a content X is displayed in the window X.

The second screen device 3 can simultaneously display metadatacorresponding to the pieces of content displayed in the windows of themulti-window screen device 1-1 or the multi-window screen device 1-2 anda started-up linked application in accordance with the progression ofthe content.

In the case of FIG. 1, the second screen device 3 is in a state in whicha linked application A to the content A of the window A, another linkedapplication C to the content C of the window C and metadata X of thecontent X of the window X are displayed simultaneously.

In the case where the utilization form illustrated in FIG. 1 is assumed,there is the possibility that the user may not be able to rapidly graspa corresponding relationship of the pieces of information (videos of thelinked applications and metadata) displayed on the screen of the secondscreen device 3 to the pieces of content displayed in the windows of themulti-window screen devices 1-1 and 1-2.

Accordingly, a contrivance allowing a user to rapidly grasp acorresponding relationship between a plurality of pieces of contentwhich can be displayed simultaneously in the windows of the multi-windowscreen devices 1-1 and 1-2 and a plurality of pieces of information(videos of linked applications and metadata) which can be displayed onthe second screen device 3 is required.

The present disclosure has been made in view of such a situation asdescribed above and makes it possible for a user to rapidly grasp acorresponding relationship between a plurality of pieces of contentwhich can be displayed simultaneously and information which is displayedseparately.

According to a first mode of the present disclosure, there is providedan information processing apparatus which cooperates with a terminalapparatus to configure a home network system, including: a frame visualattribute setting section configured to set a frame visual attribute toa window provided on a screen to display a reproduced piece of content;a publication section configured to publish a command adapted to requestnotification of the frame visual attribute set to the window from theterminal apparatus to the terminal apparatus; and a notification sectionconfigured to notify the terminal apparatus of the frame visualattribute of the window in response to calling of the command from theterminal apparatus.

The display control section may set, to a plurality of windows providedon the screen to display a plurality of different pieces of contenttherein, different frame visual attributes, and the publication sectionmay publish a command adapted to request notification of the framevisual attributes of the plurality of windows from the terminalapparatus to the terminal apparatus.

The frame visual attribute setting section may change the frame visualattributes of the windows in response to a request issued from theterminal apparatus utilizing the command.

The publication section may describe a URL of the command directly inthe device description described expanding a prescription of UPnP topublish the URL of the command to the terminal apparatus.

The command may be WebAPI.

The publication section may multicast distribute a Notify message on thehome network and publish the device description to the terminalapparatus in response to an access from the terminal apparatus based onthe Notify message.

The publication section may publish the device description to theterminal apparatus in response to M-Search from the terminal apparatus.

According to the first mode of the present disclosure, the informationprocessing apparatus may further include an identification requestprocessing section configured to extract, from a reproduced piece ofcontent, signature data representative of a characteristic of the pieceof content, generate and transmit a query including at least theextracted signature data to an identification server and receive aresponse transmitted thereto from the identification server in responseto the query and representative of a result of the identification of thereproduced piece of content, and the publication section may publishalso a command adapted to render the identification request processingsection operative from the terminal apparatus to the terminal apparatus.

According to the first mode of the present disclosure, there is providedan information processing method for an information processing apparatuswhich cooperates with a terminal apparatus to configure a home networksystem, the method executed by the information processing apparatus,including: a frame visual attribute setting step of setting a framevisual attribute to a window provided on a screen to display areproduced piece of content; a publication step of publishing a commandadapted to request notification of the frame visual attribute set to thewindow from the terminal apparatus to the terminal apparatus; and anotification step of notifying the terminal apparatus of the framevisual attribute of the window in response to calling of the commandfrom the terminal apparatus.

According to the first mode of the present disclosure, there is provideda program used to cause a computer, which cooperates with a terminalapparatus to configure a home network system, to function as: a framevisual attribute setting section configured to set a frame visualattribute to a window provided on a screen to display a reproduced pieceof content; a publication section configured to publish a commandadapted to request notification of the frame visual attribute set to thewindow from the terminal apparatus to the terminal apparatus; and anotification section configured to notify the terminal apparatus of theframe visual attribute of the window in response to calling of thecommand from the terminal apparatus.

In the first mode of the present disclosure, a frame visual attribute isset to a window provided on a screen to display a reproduced piece ofcontent, and a command adapted to request notification of the framevisual attribute set to the window from the terminal apparatus ispublished to the terminal apparatus. Further, the terminal apparatus isnotified of the frame visual attribute of the window in response tocalling of the command from the terminal apparatus.

According to a second mode of the present disclosure, there is providedan information processing apparatus which cooperates with a contentdisplaying apparatus, displaying a piece of content in a window providedon a screen, to configure a home network system, including: a commandacquisition section configured to acquire a command adapted to requestnotification of a frame visual attribute set to the window provided onthe screen of the content displaying apparatus to display a reproducedpiece of content from the content displaying apparatus and call thecommand to receive notification of the frame visual attribute; a linkedapplication execution section configured to acquire and execute a linkedapplication to be executed in accordance with the progression of thepiece of content displayed in the window provided on the screen of thecontent displaying apparatus; and a frame displaying controlling sectionconfigured to set a frame visual attribute same as the notified framevisual attribute to a frame in which an image by the linked applicationis to be displayed.

The command acquisition section may acquire a URL of the commanddescribed directly in a device description published by the contentdisplaying apparatus and described expanding a prescription of UPnP.

The command may be WebAPI.

The command acquisition section may acquire the device description fromthe content displaying apparatus based on a Notify message multicastdistributed on the home network by the content displaying apparatus.

The command acquisition section may acquire the device descriptionsupplied thereto from the content displaying apparatus searched out byM-Search.

The content displaying apparatus may include an identification requestprocessing section configured to extract, from a reproduced piece ofcontent, signature data representative of a characteristic of the pieceof content, generate and transmit a query including at least theextracted signature data to an identification server and receive aresponse transmitted back from the identification server in response tothe query and representative of a result of the identification of thereproduced piece of content. The command acquisition section may acquirealso a command adapted to render the identification request processingsection of the content displaying apparatus operative from the contentdisplaying apparatus and receives the response transferred thereto fromthe content displaying apparatus by calling the command, and the linkedapplication execution section may acquire and execute the linkedapplication based on related metadata included in the received responseand corresponding to the identified piece of content.

According to the second mode of the present disclosure, there isprovided an information processing method for an information processingapparatus which cooperates with a content displaying apparatus,displaying a piece of content in a window provided on a screen, toconfigure a home network system, the method executed by the informationprocessing apparatus, including: an acquisition step of acquiring acommand adapted to request notification of a frame visual attribute setto the window provided on the screen of the content displaying apparatusto display a reproduced piece of content from the content displayingapparatus; a reception step of calling the command to receive thenotification of the frame visual attribute; a linked applicationexecution step of acquiring and executing a linked application to beexecuted in accordance with the progression of the piece of contentdisplayed in the window provided on the screen of the content displayingapparatus; and a frame displaying controlling step of setting a framevisual attribute same as the notified frame visual attribute to a framein which an image by the linked application is to be displayed.

According to the second mode of the present disclosure, there isprovided a program used to cause a computer, which cooperates with acontent displaying apparatus, displaying a piece of content in a windowprovided on a screen, to configure a home network system, to functionas: a command acquisition section configured to acquire a commandadapted to request notification of a frame visual attribute set to thewindow provided on the screen of the content displaying apparatus todisplay a reproduced piece of content from the content displayingapparatus and call the command to receive notification of the framevisual attribute; a linked application execution section configured toacquire and execute a linked application to be executed in accordancewith the progression of the piece of content displayed in the windowprovided on the screen of the content displaying apparatus; and a framedisplaying controlling section configured to set a frame visualattribute same as the notified frame visual attribute to a frame inwhich an image by the linked application is to be displayed.

In the second mode of the present disclosure, a command adapted torequest notification of a frame visual attribute set to the windowprovided on the screen of the content displaying apparatus to display areproduced piece of content is acquired from the content displayingapparatus, and the command is called to receive notification of theframe visual attribute. A linked application to be executed inaccordance with the progression of the piece of content displayed in thewindow provided on the screen of the content displaying apparatus isacquired and executed, and a frame visual attribute same as the notifiedframe visual attribute is set to a frame in which an image by the linkedapplication is to be displayed.

According to a third mode of the present disclosure, there is providedan information processing method for a home network system whichincludes a content displaying apparatus and a terminal apparatus,including: a frame visual attribute setting step by the contentdisplaying apparatus of setting a frame visual attribute to a windowprovided on a screen to display a reproduced piece of content; apublication step by the content displaying apparatus of publishing acommand adapted to request notification of the frame visual attributeset to the window from the terminal apparatus to the terminal apparatus;an acquisition step by the terminal apparatus of acquiring the publishedcommand; a notification step by the content displaying apparatus ofnotifying the terminal apparatus of the frame visual attribute of thewindow in response to calling of the command by the terminal apparatus;a linked application execution step by the terminal apparatus ofacquiring and executing a linked application to be executed inaccordance with the progression of the piece of content displayed in thewindow provided on the screen of the content displaying apparatus; and aframe displaying controlling step by the terminal apparatus of setting aframe visual attribute same as the notified frame visual attribute to aframe in which an image by the linked application is to be displayed.

In the third mode of the present disclosure, by the content displayingapparatus, a frame visual attribute is set to a window provided on ascreen to display a reproduced piece of content, and a command adaptedto request notification of the frame visual attribute set to the windowfrom the terminal apparatus is published to the terminal apparatus.Meanwhile, by the terminal apparatus, the published command is acquired.Further, by the content displaying apparatus, the terminal apparatus isnotified of the frame visual attribute of the window in response tocalling of the command by the terminal apparatus. Then, by the terminalapparatus, a linked application to be executed in accordance with theprogression of the piece of content displayed in the window provided onthe screen of the content displaying apparatus is acquired and executed.Thereupon, a frame visual attribute same as the notified frame visualattribute is set to a frame in which an image by the linked applicationis to be displayed.

With the first mode of the present disclosure, the terminal apparatuscan be notified of a frame visual attribute set to a window displaying apiece of content.

With the second mode of the present disclosure, a frame visual attributesame as the frame visual attribute set to the window displaying a pieceof content on the content displaying apparatus can be set to a frameadapted to display an image by a linked application to be executed inaccordance with the progression of the piece of content.

With the third mode of the present disclosure, a common frame visualattribute can be set to both of a window displaying a piece of contenton the content displaying apparatus and a frame adapted to display animage by a linked application to be executed in accordance with theprogression of the piece of content by the terminal apparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a space in the case where a multi-windowscreen device and a second screen device are linked with each other andan ACR service is utilized;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a space illustrating an outline of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of anACR service utilization system which is an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of anACR server;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of anACR client;

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a data structure of ACR reference data;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a data structure of an ACR query;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are views each illustrating a data structure of an ACRresponse;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a pre-process in a home networksystem;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating another pre-process in the homenetwork system;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating operations of the ACR serviceutilization system; and

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of acomputer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In the following, a best mode for carrying out the present disclosure(hereinafter referred to as embodiment) is described in detail withreference to the drawings.

[Outline of ACR Serve Utilization System]

FIG. 2 shows an outline of an ACR service utilization system which is anembodiment of the present disclosure. The ACR service utilization systemincludes multi-window screen devices 40-1 and 40-2 and a second screendevice 50 which have a built-in ACR client and causes the devices tolink with each other to utilize an ACR service.

In FIG. 2, the multi-window screen device 40-1 is installed on the frontof a user, and the multi screen device 40-2 is installed on a left sidewall. In the proximity of the user, the second screen device 50 isdisposed.

A plurality of (in the case of FIG. 2, three) windows can be provided ona screen of the multi-window screen device 40-1, and pieces of contentdifferent from each other (which may be the same as each other) can bedisplayed in the windows simultaneously. In the following description,for example, the piece of content displayed in a window A is referred toas content A. This similarly applies also to the other pieces of contentdisplayed in the other windows.

Further, the multi-window screen device 40-1 can transfer an ACRresponse, which includes an identification result and so forth of thepieces of content displayed in the windows, to the second screen device50 by utilizing the ACR service.

Furthermore, the multi-window screen device 40-1 can provide, to a frameof each window, an attribute (hereinafter referred to as frame visualattribute) which can be visually distinguished from frames of the otherwindows (including the window of the multi-window screen device 40-2).

As the frame visual attribute, a color, a thickness and a type of aframe line, a depth of three-dimensional display and so forth which canbe set and changed by the CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) can be listed. Inthe case of FIG. 2, the frame line of each window is set different fromthose of the frames of the other windows, and the frame line of thewindow A is set to an alternate long and short dash line; the frame lineof the window B is set to a solid line; and the frame line of the windowC is set to a broken line.

The multi-window screen device 40-2 is similar to the multi-windowscreen device 40-1. However, in FIG. 2, the multi-window screen device40-2 is in a state in which only a window X is provided on the screenthereof and the frame line of the window W is set to an alternate longand two short dashes line to display content X.

In the second screen device 50, metadata corresponding to the pieces ofcontent displayed in the windows of the multi-window screen devices 40-1and 40-2 and a linked application conforming to the progression of thecontent can be started up and displayed.

Further, in the second screen device 50, it is possible to provide aframe to each piece of information to be displayed (a screen image ofmetadata or a linked application corresponding to the content) and set,to the frame, a frame visual attribute similar to that of the frame ofthe window in which the corresponding content is displayed.

In particular, in the case of FIG. 2, the second screen device 50 is ina state in which the linked application A corresponding to the content Aof the window A is displayed in the frame of an alternate long and shortdash line; the linked application C corresponding to the content C ofthe window C is displayed in the frame of a broken line; and metadata Xcorresponding to the content X of the window X is displayed in the frameof an alternate long and two short dashes line, simultaneously. It is tobe noted that, also in a case in which such pieces of information arenot displayed simultaneously but are displayed switchably, a framevisual attribute similar to that of the frame of the window in which thecorresponding content is displayed can be set to the frame.

[Example of Configuration of ACR Service Utilization System]

FIG. 3 shows an example of a configuration of the ACR serviceutilization system of the embodiment of the present disclosure.

This ACR service utilization system 10 identifies more than one piece ofcontent displayed simultaneously on the screens of the multi-windowscreen devices 40-1 and 40-2 such as a TV receiver having a large-sizedscreen and presents metadata relating to the pieces of content to theuser through the second screen device 50 or executes a linkedapplication in conformity with the progression of the content. In thefollowing description, in the case where there is no necessity toindividually distinguish the multi-window screen devices 40-1 and 40-2from each other, each of them is referred to merely as multi-windowscreen device 40.

Here, a piece of content is not limited to a program being broadcast. Inparticular, all AV content such as, for example, a program recorded andreproduced by an external apparatus such as a video recorder connectedto the multi-window screen device 40, a video of a cinema or the likereproduced from a package medium, and a moving picture and musicdownloaded through the Internet or the like are included in the content.Also a commercial message (hereinafter referred to as CM) insertedbetween programs or midway of a program is included in the content.

For the identification of a piece of content, the ACR service isutilized in which signature data (for example, a watermark or afingerprint) extracted periodically from the piece of content beingviewed and representative of a characteristic of the piece of content iscompared with signature data of pieces of content registered in adatabase in advance to identify the piece of content.

The ACR service utilization system 10 is configured from a providersystem 20 on the side which supplies content and a linked applicationand so forth corresponding to the content, and a home network system 30on the user side who views content or utilizes a linked application.

The provider system 20 and the home network system 30 are connected toeach other through a broadcasting network 11 and a bidirectionalcommunication network 12. Here, the broadcasting network 11 includes aTV broadcasting network, a CATV network, an IPTV network and so forth.The bidirectional communication network 12 is an IP communicationnetwork represented by the Internet.

It is to be noted that lines between the multi-window screen device 40-2belonging to the home network system 30 and the provider system 20through the broadcasting network 11 and the bidirectional communicationnetwork 12 are omitted.

[Description of Provider System 20]

The provider system 20 is configured from a content server 21, ametadata server 22, an application server 23 and an ACR server 24.

The content server 21 broadcasts content such as a program or a CMthrough the broadcasting network 11. Further, the content server 21supplies content to be broadcast to the ACR server 24. It is to be notedthat, in place of supplying content, a content identifier and signaturedata extracted in advance from the content may be supplied to the ACRserver 24.

The metadata server 22 supplies metadata corresponding to contentbroadcast from the content server 21 to the ACR server 24. The metadataincludes various kinds of information relating to the content, anidentifier representative of a linked application to be executed inaccordance with the progression of the content, data to be used in thelinked application and so forth.

The application server 23 supplies an application and data to beutilized in the application through the bidirectional communicationnetwork 12 in accordance with a request from the second screen device 50of the home network system 30.

The ACR server 24 generates in advance ACR reference data in which acontent identifier, an application identifier and so forth arecoordinated with signature data extracted in a predetermined samplingperiod from various pieces of content which can be viewed on themulti-window screen device 40 of the home network system 30 to form adatabase and retains the database. The ACR server 24 generates an ACRresponse in response to an ACR query transmitted from any of ACR clients42A to 42C of the multi-window screen device 40 based on the database ofthe ACR reference data, and transmits the ACR response.

It is to be noted that the content server 21, metadata server 22,application server 23 and ACR server 24 which configure the providersystem 20 may be disposed in a concentrated manner at one place or maybe disposed separately in a decentralized fashion. Or some of thecomponents may be combined suitably. Further, a plural number of serversmay be provided for each of the component servers.

[Description of Home Network System 30]

The home network system 30 is configured from the multi-window screendevice 40 such as a TV receiver having a large-sized screen, and thesecond screen device 50 such as a tablet type terminal, a slate PC or asmartphone. The multi-window screen device 40 and the second screendevice 50 are connected to each other, for example, by a wireless LAN.

It is to be noted that a plurality of such multi-window screen devices40 and a plurality of such second screen devices 50 may be provided inthe home network system 30.

The multi-window screen device 40 provides a plurality of windows on thescreen thereof and displays different pieces of content simultaneouslyin the windows so as to be viewed by the user. The multi-window screendevice 40 includes a content renderer 41, an ACR client 42, a UPnP(Universal Plug and Play) server 43, a local Web server 44, and a windowmanager 45. A number of such content renderers 41 and a number of suchACR clients 42 equal to the number of windows which can be set by themulti-window screen device 40 are incorporated.

In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the multi-window screendevice 40 can provide three windows A, B and C on the screen thereof. Inthis instance, it is assumed that three content renders 41A, 41B and 41Cand three ACR clients 42A, 42B and 42C are incorporated correspondingly.The number of windows which can be set is not limited to three. In thefollowing description, where there is no necessity to individuallydistinguish the content renders 41A, 41B and 41C from one another, eachof them is referred to simply as content renderer 41. This similarlyapplies also to the ACR clients 42A, 42B and 42C.

The content renderer 41A acquires and branches all pieces of content tobe displayed in the window A on the screen of the multi-window screendevice 40 and supplies the pieces of content to the ACR client 42A. Inparticular, the content renderer 41A acquires and branches not onlycontent broadcast from the content server 21 but also content inputtedthrough various input terminals (HDMI terminal and so forth) of themulti-window screen device 40 and supplies the acquired content to theACR client 42A. This similarly applies also to the content renderers 41Band 41C.

The ACR client 42A extracts, from content inputted thereto from thecontent renderer 41A, signature data representative of a characteristicof the content in a predetermined sampling period. Here, as theextraction method of signature data, an extraction method same as thatused by the ACR server 24 of the provider system 20 (hereinafterdescribed) is used.

Further, the ACR client 42A generates an ACR query including theextracted signature data and transmits the ACR query to the ACR server24 of the provider system 20 through the bidirectional communicationnetwork 12. Further, the ACR client 42A receives and retains an ACRresponse transmitted thereto from the ACR server 24 in response to theACR query transmitted therefrom. This similarly applies also to the ACRclients 42B and 42C.

The UPnP server 43 universally notifies an other device (in the presentcase, the second screen device 50), which configures the home networksystem 30 together with the multi-window screen device 40, of details ofa WebAPI (Web Application Program Interface) adapted to call a functionof the multi-window screen device 40 (in the present case, to utilizethe ACR service by the ACR client 42) in which the UPnP server 43 itselfis incorporated. In particular, the UPnP server 43 newly defines aprotocol on a basic protocol provided by a general UPnP server and usesthe defined protocol to carry out universal notification (hereinafterdescribed in detail).

The local Web server 44 allows an other device (in the present case, thesecond screen device 50) which configures the home network system 30together with the multi-window screen device 40 to utilize a function ofthe multi-window screen device 40 (in the present case, in the presentcase, to utilize the ACR service by the ACR client 42) in which thelocal Web server 44 itself is incorporated. In particular, the local Webserver 44 controls the ACR client 42 in response to the fact that theWebAPI let known from the UPnP server 43 is called to utilize the ACRservice, and transfers an ACR response transmitted back from the ACRserver 24 to the second screen device 50.

The window manager 45 controls display of a frame of the windowsprovided on the screen of the multi-window screen device 40.

The second screen device 50 presents, in the present embodiment,metadata of content being viewed principally on the multi-window screendevice 40 to the user or executes a linked application in accordancewith the progression of the content. The second screen device 50includes a plurality of ACR applications 51, a number of linkedapplication managers 52 equal to the number of ACR applications 51, anda window manager 53.

In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the second screen device50 includes three ACR applications 51 a, 51 b and 51 c and three linkedapplication managers 52 a, 52 b and 52 c. However, the number of them isnot limited to three. In the following description, where there is nonecessity to individually distinguish the ACR applications 51 a, 51 band 51 c, each of them is referred to merely as ACR application 51. Thissimilarly applies also to the linked application managers 52 a, 52 b and52 c.

The ACR application 51 is installed in advance in the second screendevice 50 and is started up when the ACR service is utilized in a linkedrelationship with the multi-window screen device 40. The ACR application51 acquires a WebAPI adapted to read out a function which uses the ACRservice from the UPnP server 43 and calls the WebAPI to acquire an ACRresponse from the ACR server 24 received by the ACR client 42 throughthe local Web server 44. Furthermore, the ACR application 51 analyzesthe acquired ACR response and notifies the linked application manager 52of a result of the analysis.

The linked application manager 52 presents, in accordance with anotification from the ACR application 51, metadata included in the ACRresponse to the user or acquires and executes a linked applicationcorresponding to the content being viewed on the multi-window screendevice 40 from the application server 23 through the bidirectionalcommunication network 12. It is to be noted that a Web browser can beused as the linked application manager 52.

The window manager 53 carries out setting, to the frame which displaysinformation (screen image of metadata or a linked application) displayedby each of the linked application managers 52, same as the setting ofthe frame visual attribute of the window of the multi-window screendevice 40 in which the corresponding content is displayed.

[Example of Detailed Configuration of ACR Server 24]

FIG. 4 shows an example of a detailed configuration of the ACR server 24included in the provider system 20.

The ACR server 24 is configured from a content acquisition section 61, asignature extraction section 62, an ACR database (DB) 63, an ACRresponse generation section 64, and a communication section 65.

The content acquisition section 61 acquires content, which the contentserver 21 is scheduled to broadcast through the broadcasting network 11,or various pieces of content, which can be viewed on the multi-windowscreen device 40, from the content server 21 or the like and suppliesthe acquired content to the signature extraction section 62. Thesignature extraction section 62 extracts, from the content suppliedthereto from the content acquisition section 61, signature datarepresentative of a characteristic of the content in a predeterminedsampling period using a predetermined extraction method and outputs thesignature data to the ACR database 63.

To the extraction method of signature data by the signature extractionsection 62, an existing arbitrary method can be applied. For example, awatermark embedded in advance in content may be extracted and used assignature data, or a fingerprint may be calculated and used as signaturedata.

If a fingerprint is used as signature data, then even if the resolution,aspect ratio, bit rate, encoding format or the like of content isconverted, the same signature data can be obtained before and after theconversion. Accordingly, the identification accuracy when identificationof content is carried out based on the signature data can be enhanced.

It is to be noted that, where a plurality of ACR servers 24 areinvolved, the same extraction method of signature data by the signatureextraction section 62 need not be used by the individual ACR servers 24,but an arbitrary extraction method can be adopted for each of the ACRservers 24.

The ACR database 63 generates and stores ACR reference data in which acontent identifier or the like representative of a piece of content ofan extraction source from which each signature data is extracted isassociated with each signature data inputted from the signatureextraction section 62. Consequently, the signature data extracted fromthe content are converted into a database. The data structure of ACRreference data is hereinafter described with reference to FIG. 4.

The ACR response generation section 64 refers to the ACR database 63 toidentify a piece of content of an extraction source of signature dataincluded in an ACR query transmitted thereto from the ACR client 42.Further, the ACR response generation section 64 generates an ACRresponse which includes the content identifier as a result of theidentification, associated metadata and so forth. The data structure ofthe ACR response is hereinafter described with reference to FIGS. 8A and8B. The communication section 65 receives an ACR query transmittedthereto from the ACR client 42 and outputs the ACR query to the ACRresponse generation section 64, and transmits an ACR response generatedby the ACR response generation section 64 to the ACR client 42.

[Example of Detailed Configuration of ACR Client 42]

FIG. 5 shows an example of a detailed configuration of the ACR client 42incorporated in the multi-window screen device 40.

The ACR client 42 is configured from a signature extraction section 71,an ACR query generation section 72, a communication section 73, and anACR response retention section 74.

The signature extraction section 71 extracts, from content branched andsupplied from the content renderer 41, signature data representative ofa characteristic of the content in a predetermined sampling period andoutputs the signature data to the ACR query generation section 72. It isto be noted that the extraction method of signature data by thesignature extraction section 71 is common to that by the signatureextraction section 62 of the ACR server 24 to be utilized.

The ACR query generation section 72 generates an ACR query whichincludes signature data extracted by the signature extraction section 71and is used to request the ACR server 24 to identify content. The datastructure of the ACR query is hereinafter described with reference toFIG. 7.

The communication section 73 transmits an ACR query generated by the ACRquery generation section 72 to the ACR server 24, receives an ACRresponse transmitted thereto from the ACR server 24 and outputs thereceived ACR response to the ACR response retention section 74. The ACRresponse retention section 74 retains the ACR response received by thecommunication section 73. It is to be noted that the retained ACRresponse is transferred to the second screen device 50 by the local Webserver 44.

[Data Structure of ACR Reference Data]

FIG. 6 illustrates a data structure of ACR reference data formed as adatabase in the ACR database 63 of the ACR server 24.

In ACR reference data 100, a content identifier 102, reproduction time103 and related metadata 104 are associated with each signature data 101extracted in a predetermined cycle from content.

The signature data 101 is extracted from content by the signatureextraction section 62. The content identifier 102 is informationrepresentative of a piece of content of an extraction source of thesignature data 101. The reproduction time 103 indicates progressiontiming of a piece of content represented by the content identifier 102at a time at which the signature data 101 is extracted from the content,and is represented, for example, by an elapsed period of time from thetop of the piece of content.

The related metadata 104 includes metadata of a piece of contentrepresented by the content identifier 102, a linked applicationidentifier (information uniquely representing a linked application to beexecuted in accordance with the progression timing of a piece of contentindicated by the reproduction time 103) and various data to be utilizedby the executed linked application.

It is to be noted that the related metadata 104 may have contents whichdiffer depending upon the progression timing of a piece of contentindicated by the reproduction time 103.

[Data Structure of ACR Query]

FIG. 7 illustrates a data structure of an ACR query generated by the ACRquery generation section 72 of the ACR client 42.

An ACR query 110 includes an ACR query identifier 111, a signature typeidentifier 112, a service identifier 113, signature data 114, a localtimestamp 115, a source address 116 and a signature 117.

The ACR query identifier 111 is information used to uniquely specify theACR query 110. The signature type identifier 112 is information used tospecify an extraction method used when the signature data 114 isextracted. The service identifier 113 is information used to select,where a plurality of ACR servers 24 exist, one of the ACR servers 24 towhich the ACR query 110 is to be transmitted to obtain an ACR response.

The signature data 114 is extracted from content by the signatureextraction section 71 of the ACR client 42. The local timestamp 115indicates a timing at which the signature data 114 is extracted from thecontent and is represented by time indicated by a local system clock ofthe multi-window screen device 40.

The source address 116 is an address of the ACR client 42, whichoriginates the ACR query 110, in the bidirectional communication network12, and is utilized as information representative of a transmissiondesignation of an ACR response generated by the ACR server 24 inresponse to the ACR query 110. The signature 117 suppressesfalsification of the ACR query 110. It is to be noted that the ACR query110 may be transmitted after it is encoded fully.

[Data Structure of ACR Response]

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate data structures of an ACR response generatedby the ACR response generation section 64.

An ACR response 120 has a data structure illustrated in FIG. 8A or 8B.FIG. 8A illustrates a data structure of the ACR response 120 in the casewhere a piece of content of an extraction source of the signature data114 included in the ACR query 110 is identified successfully, namely, inthe case where the user of the multi-window screen device 40successfully identifies the piece of content being viewed. FIG. 8Billustrates a data structure of the ACR response 120 in the case wherethe piece of content is not identified successfully.

In the ACR response 120 (FIG. 8A) in the case where the user of themulti-window screen device 40 successfully identifies the piece ofcontent being viewed, an ACR query identifier 121, a signature typeidentifier 122, a service identifier 123, a content identifier 124, areproduction time 125, a local timestamp 126, related metadata 127, asource address 128 and a signature 129 are included.

Meanwhile, in the ACR response 120 (FIG. 8B) in the case where the userof the multi-window screen device 40 does not successfully identify thepiece of content being viewed, the ACR query identifier 121, the serviceidentifier 122, the source address 128, the signature 129 and anidentification failure flag 130 are included.

The ACR query identifier 121, signature type identifier 122, serviceidentifier 123 and local timestamp 126 are used to specify the ACR query110 which requests transmission of the ACR response 120, and the ACRquery identifier 111, signature type identifier 112, service identifier113 and local timestamp 115 of the ACR query 110 are cited anddescribed.

The content identifier 124, reproduction time 125 and related metadata127 represent a result of identification of content, and the contentidentifier 102, reproduction time 103 and related metadata 104 of thecorresponding ACR reference data 100 are cited and described.

The source address 128 is an address of the ACR server 24, whichtransmits the ACR response 120, in the bidirectional communicationnetwork 12. The signature 129 is used to suppress falsification of theACR response 120. It is to be noted that the ACR response 120 may beentirely encrypted and transmitted to prevent falsification thereof.

The identification failure flag 130 is a flag representing failure bythe ACR server 24 in identification of a piece of content of anextraction source of the signature data 114 included in the ACR query110 from the ACR client 42, namely, of a piece of content being viewedby the user of the multi-window screen device 40.

[Process of Home Network System 30 of ACR Service Utilization System 10]

Now, two different processes when the second screen device 50 in thehome network system 30 acquires a device description which isinformation relating to functions which can be utilized by themulti-window screen device 40 are described.

It is to be noted that the functions which can be utilized by themulti-window screen device 40 in the present embodiment indicateutilization of the ACR service by the ACR client 42 and application of aframe visual attribute to each window on the screen by the windowmanager 45.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating processing in the case where, in astate in which the ACR application 51 is started up already in thesecond screen device 50, the multi-window screen device 40 is connectedto the network system 30 (including also the timing at which themulti-window screen device 40 is started up).

At step S1, the UPnP server 43 of the multi-window screen device 40multicast distributes a Notify message defined by the UPnP given belowto the home network system 30. The Notify message is transferred to thehome network system 30 using a UDP/IP and received, in the present case,by the ACR application 51 of the second screen device 50.

NOTIFY * HTTP/1.1

. . .LOCATION “http://192.168.0.4:55500”. . .

In the LOCATION header of the Notify message, an acquisition destinationaddress of a device description of the multi-window screen device 40 isdescribed. Therefore, at step S11, the ACR application 51 of the secondscreen device 50 acquires the device description from the acquisitiondestination address using a HTTP GET.

By the process described above, the ACR application 51 of the secondscreen device 50 can acquire the device description of the multi-windowscreen device 40.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a process when the ACR application51 is started up in the second screen device 50 later in a state inwhich the multi-window screen device 40 has already been connected tothe network system 30 and started up.

In this instance, since multicast distribution of the Notify message bythe UPnP server 43 of the multi-window screen device 40 has been carriedout already, the ACR application 51 of the second screen device 50cannot receive the Notify message. Therefore, at step S21, the ACRapplication 51 searches ACR clients which can be utilized by an M-Searchdefined by the UPnP.

The UPnP server 43 of the multi-window screen device 40 responding tothe M-Search answers the device description at step S31. The ACRapplication 51 receives the device description at step S22.

By the process described above, the ACR application 51 of the secondscreen device 50 can acquire the device description of the multi-windowscreen device 40.

[Example of Device Description]

Here, an example of the device description is described. In order todescribe a device description, for example, an XML file is used.

A first example of the device description is described below.

First example of the device description

<root xmlns=“urn:schemas-upnp-org:device-1-0”> ... <serviceList>  <service>    <serviceType>“ urn:abc:service:ACRClient.v1” </serviceType> (signifies ACR client service)    <serviceId>“urn:UPnP:serviceId:1234”</serviceId> (signifies service ID of ACR clientservice)    <SCPDURL></SCPDURL>    <controlURL>“http://192.168.0.4:55500/getACRResponse ”</controlURL>   <WindowStyle>“http://192.168.0.4:55500/windowStyle”< /WindowStyle>  ...   </service>  </serviceList> ... </root>

It is to be noted that, in a <SCPDURL> element of a device descriptionprescribed in an existing general UPnP, an acquisition destinationaddress of a service description described in regard to ACR serviceswhich can be utilized by the ACR client 42 is described, and the ACRapplication 51 acquires the service description from the acquisitiondestination address using the HTTP GET. Further, the ACR application 51sends a message of an action to a URL described in a <controlURL>element using a SOAP prescribed in the UPnP to call the action (in thepresent case, transmission of an ACR query and transfer of an ACRresponse).

However, in the present embodiment, in order to make it possible to callan action by a reduced number of steps, such a device descriptionprescribed in the UPnP as described above is expanded such that theWebAPI adapted to call the action is described directly in the devicedescription.

In particular, as in the case of the first example describedhereinabove, for example, the <SCPDURL> element is left empty withnothing described therein, or else a predetermined dummy characterstring is described in the <SCPDURL> element while a server side scriptURL (in the case of the first example,http://192.168.0.4:55500/getACRResponse) of the WebAPI adapted to startup the ACR client and request transfer of the ACR response 120 isdescribed directly in the <controlURL> element.

Further, a <WindowStyle> element which is not described in the UPnP isprovided newly such that a server side script URL (in the case of thefirst example, http://192.168.0.4:55500/widowStyle) of the WebAPIadapted to notify the window manager 45 of a frame visual attribute orchange the frame visual attribute is described directly in the<WindowStyle> element.

It is to be noted that a <service> element is described for each of theinstalled ACR clients 42. Accordingly, in the case of the presentembodiment, three <service> elements are described in a <serviceList>.

Or, a <WebAPIURL> element which is not prescribed by the UPnP may beprovided newly such that a server side script URL of the WebAPI isdescribed directly in the <WebAPIURL> element as in the case of a secondexample described below.

Second example of the device description

<root xmlns=“urn:schemas-upnp-org:device-1-0”> ... <serviceList>  <service>    <serviceType>“ urn:abc:service:ACRClient.v1” </serviceType> (signifies ACR client service)    <serviceId>“urn:UPnP:serviceId:1234” </serviceId> (signifies service ID of ACRclient service)    <SCPDURL></SCPDURL>    <controlURL></controlURL>   <WebAPIURL>“ http://192.168.0.4:55500/getACRResponse” </WebAPIURL>   <WindowStyle>“http://192.168.0.4:55500/windowStyle”< /WindowStyle>  ...   </service>  </serviceList>

The ACR application 51 of the second screen device 50 which has acquiredthe device description of the first or second example can cause anaction to be executed by calling the getACRResponse which is the serverside script url of the WebAPI described in the <controlURL> element orthe <WebAPIURL> element of the device description using the HTTP GET.

In particular, it is possible to start up, if the ACR client 42 of themulti-window screen device 40 is not started up as yet, the ACR client42, cause the ACR client 42 to transmit the ACR query 110, and transferthe ACR response 120 sent back in response to the ACR query 110. It isto be noted that the transfer of the ACR response 120 is carried out ina state in which it is described in the body of an HTTP responsereturned in response to the WebAPI, for example, in the following mannerusing a JSON.

HTTP/1.1 200 OK

Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8. . .“Contents of ACR response encoded by JSON”

A transaction which uses the WebAPI is carried out by repetitive pollingwhile content is being viewed. Then, in response to the progression ofthe content, the related metadata 127 and so forth in the ACR response120 converted currently are presented to the user through the secondscreen device 50.

If the device description is expanded and standardized as describedabove, then the multi-window screen device 40 and the second screendevice 50 which are fabricated and sold by different vendors can rapidlyoperate in a linked relationship with each other.

It is to be noted that, a WebSocket whose standardization is formulatedby the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) and so forth may be usedin place of use of the WebAPI. Where the WebSocket is used, a WebSocketserver is provided in the local Web server 44 (or the ACR client 42 orsecond screen device 50) such that a session (TCP connection)establishment request is issued from both of the ACR application 51 andthe ACR client 42 through the WebSocket server to establish a sessionand the ACR response 120 is transferred on the session using the JSONdescribed hereinabove or the like.

In this instance, if the ACR client 42 receives a new ACR response 120from the ACR server 24, then the ACR response 120 is transferredimmediately to the ACR application 51 through the established session.Accordingly, the necessity for polling which is necessitated where theWebAPI is used is eliminated, and immediate transfer of the ACR response120 which does not rely upon the period of polling becomes possible.

Further, the ACR application 51 can acquire a frame visual attribute ofa window provided on the screen of the multi-window screen device 40from the window manager 45 through the local Web server 44 by calling awindowStyle, which is the server side script url of the WebAPI describedin the <WindowStyle> element of the device description by the HTTP GET.

In particular, a frame visual attribute is described in the body of anHTTP response returned in response to the WebAIP. For example, if acolor is set as a frame visual attribute, thenborder-color:#ffa000->example of designating an orange border color isdescribed in the body of the HTTP response.

It is to be noted that, if the frame visual attribute returned from themulti-window screen device 40-1 and the frame visual attribute returnedfrom the multi-window screen device 40-2 overlap with each other, thenit is possible to request one of the multi-window screen devices 40-1and 40-2 to change the frame visual attribute.

In particular, a frame visual attribute into which the frame visualattribute is to be changed may be described into the body of a requestby a HTTP POST request to the URL of the WebAPI of the <WindowStyle>element. The following example indicates a case in which an overlappingframe visual attribute is changed to (border-color:#ffa001).

POST /windowStyle HTTP/1.0

host: 192.168.0.4:55500

Content-Length: 20

border-color:#ffa001

[Operation by ACR Service Utilization System 10]

Now, operation of the ACR service utilization system 10 is described.

It is to be noted that, as a prerequisite of operation described below,it is assumed that, in the home network system 30, the ACR application51 of the second screen device 50 has already acquired a devicedescription from the UPnP server 43 of the multi-window screen device40.

Further, it is assumed that, in the ACR server 24 of the provider system20, ACR reference data 100 corresponding to various pieces of contentwhich can be viewed on the multi-window screen device 40 have beengenerated and are registered in the ACR database 63.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating operation of the ACR serviceutilization system 10.

At step S41, the content server 21 of the provider system 20 startstransmission of content through the broadcasting network 11.

On the other hand, in the home network system 30, the multi-windowscreen device 40 starts reception and reproduction of the content atstep S51. Here, if the ACR application 51 of the second screen device 50calls the WebAPI which requests startup of the ACR client 42 andtransfer of an ACR response at step S61, then the ACR client 42 and soforth start operation under the control of the local Web server 44 inresponse to the WebAPI.

In particular, if the ACR client 42 of the multi-window screen device 40receives supply of a piece of content which is being viewed from thecontent renderer 41, then the signature extraction section 71 extractsthe signature data 114 from the piece of content and outputs thesignature data 114 to the ACR query generation section 72 at step S52.At step S53, the ACR query generation section 72 generates an ACR query110 which includes the signature data 114, and the communication section73 transmits the generated ACR query 110 to the ACR server 24.

In the ACR server 24 which receives the ACR query 110 from the ACRclient 42, the ACR response generation section 64 refers to the ACRdatabase 63 to identify a piece of content corresponding to thesignature data 114 included in the received ACR query 110 at step S42.Further, the ACR response generation section 64 generates an ACRresponse 120 in response to a result of the identification of the pieceof content and the communication section 65 transmits the generated ACRresponse 120 to the ACR client 42 at step S43.

The ACR client 42 which receives the ACR response 120 from the ACRserver 24 supplies the received ACR response 120 to the local Web server44 at step S54. The local Web server 44 transfers the ACR response 120to the ACR application 51 of the second screen device 50.

In the ACR application 51 which receives the ACR response 120transferred thereto, the ACR application 51 of the second screen device50 calls the WebAPI used to request notification of a frame visualattribute at step S62. In response to this, the local Web server 44notifies the ACR application 51 of the frame visual attribute managed bythe window manager 45 at step S55.

The ACR application 51 which receives the notification of the framevisual attribute notifies the window manager 53 of the frame visualattribute. The window manager 53 confirms whether or not the receivedframe visual attribute overlaps with the frame visual attribute notifiedalready from an other multi-window screen device 40. If an overlappingis detected, then the ACR application 51 requests change of the framevisual attribute by an HTTP POST request. The request is transmittedfrom the local Web server 44 to the window manager 45 at step S56. Ifthe window manager 45 changes the frame visual attribute in accordancewith the request, then the frame visual attribute after the change isconveyed as a notification from the local Web server 44 to the ACRapplication 51. The ACR application 51 which receives the frame visualattribute after the change notifies the window manager 53 of the framevisual attribute after the change at step S64. The window manager 53sets the frame visual attribute of a screen image of a linkedapplication to be displayed thereafter and the like based on the framevisual attribute after the change.

It is to be noted that, if it is confirmed at step S62 that the framevisual attribute does not overlap, then a change of the frame visualattribute is not requested, and the process at step S64 is executed.

Further, the processes at steps S62 to S64 may be executed immediatelyafter the process at step S61 without waiting for the process at stepS54 (transfer of an ACR response).

At step S65, the ACR application 51 analyzes the related metadata 127included in the ACR response 120 transferred thereto and causes thelinked application manager 52 to acquire a linked application to beexecuted in conformity with the progression of the piece of contentbeing viewed.

At step S66, the linked application manager 52 acquires and executes thelinked application supplied by the process at step S44 by theapplication server 23. It is to be noted that, if the linked applicationhas been acquired already, then the acquisition can be omitted. Further,if the linked application has already been started up, then the startupof the linked application can be omitted. Furthermore, informationincluded in the related metadata 127 is sometimes presented to the userwithout involving execution of the linked application.

At this time, the frame of the screen image of the linked applicationpresented to the user has the frame visual attribute coinciding with theframe visual attribute of the frame of the window in which thecorresponding piece of content is displayed on the multi-window screendevice 40.

The processes at steps S41 to S44, processes at steps S51 to S56 andprocesses at steps S61 to 66 described above are executed repetitivelywhile the content is viewed. However, it is possible to omit therepetitions or reduce the frequency in execution of the processes atsteps S61 to S66 and the processes at steps S55 and S56.

Consequently, the second screen device 50 can operate the linkedapplication in accordance with the progression of a piece of contentbeing viewed on the multi-window screen device 40 by the user.

Further, the user can quickly grasp to which one of pieces of contentdisplayed on the multi-window screen device 40 the screen imagepresented to the user by the second screen device 50 corresponds.

Incidentally, while it is possible to configure the servers from thecontent server 21 to ACR server 24 of the provider system 20 and themulti-window screen device 40 and second screen device 50 of the homenetwork system 30, which execute the series of processes described aboveindividually by hardware, they may otherwise be implemented by acomputer executing software. This computer includes a computerincorporated in hardware for exclusive use, a personal computer, forexample, for universal use which can execute various functions byinstalling various programs, and so forth.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardwareconfiguration of the computer described above.

In a computer 200, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201, a ROM (Read OnlyMemory) 202 and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 203 are connected to oneanother by a bus 204.

Further, an input/output interface 205 is connected to the bus 204. Aninputting section 206, an outputting section 207, a storage section 208,a communication section 209 and a drive 220 are connected to theinput/output interface 205.

The inputting section 206 is configured from a keyboard, a mouse, amicrophone and so forth. The outputting section 207 is configured from adisplay unit, a speaker and so forth. The storage section 208 isconfigured from a hard disk, a nonvolatile memory or the like. Thecommunication section 209 is configured from a network interface and soforth. The drive 220 drives a removable medium 211 such as a magneticdisk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory.

In the computer 200 configured in such a manner as described above, theCPU 201 loads a program stored, for example, in the storage section 208into the RAM 203 through the input/output interface 205 and the bus 204and executes the program to carry out the series of processes describedabove.

The program to be executed by the computer 200 (CPU 201) can be recordedon and provided as the removable medium 211 as a package medium, forexample. Further, the program can be provided through a wire or wirelesstransmission medium such as a local area network, the Internet or adigital satellite broadcast.

In the computer 200, the program can be installed into the storagesection 208 through the input/output interface 205 by loading theremovable medium 211 into the drive 220. Further, the program can bereceived by the communication section 209 through a wire or wirelesstransmission medium and installed into the storage section 208.Otherwise, the program can be installed in advance in the ROM 202 or thestorage section 208.

It is to be noted that the program to be executed by the computer 200may be a program by which the processes are carried out in a time seriesin the order as described in the present specification or a program bywhich the processes are executed in parallel or at necessary timingssuch as when the processes are called.

It is to be noted that the embodiment of the present disclosure is notlimited to the specific embodiment described hereinabove but can bechanged in various manners without departing from the subject matter ofthe present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing apparatus whichcooperates with a terminal apparatus to configure a home network system,comprising: a frame visual attribute setting section configured to set aframe visual attribute to a window provided on a screen to display areproduced piece of content; a publication section configured to publisha command adapted to request notification of the frame visual attributeset to the window from the terminal apparatus to the terminal apparatus;and a notification section configured to notify the terminal apparatusof the frame visual attribute of the window in response to calling ofthe command from the terminal apparatus.